Social Media Roundup for April 23, 2010

Hasdeep Kharaud, April 23 2010

Facebook continues it’s quest to takeover the web

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced some big changes at the f8 Facebook Developer Conference this week. We learned that Facebook Connect and Facebook Lite are getting the chop and that a whole slew of other changes and features are coming down the pipe. Most notably, Facebook revealed the new Open Graph API which will make it easier for sites and apps to share information about users in order to tailor specific offers and features to each user’s interests.

In usual fashion, all of these changes come with privacy concerns for Facebook users. Mainly, Open Graph’s ability to store user information for longer than 24 hours (unlike Facebook Connect) means that it will be accessible at anytime. Time to revisit those privacy settings.

Volcano stranded passengers get social

Iceland has been making headlines with the eruption of  it’s volcano Eyjafjallajokull, spreading vast amounts of ash into the air and disrupting air travel around the world. Stranded passengers took to Twitter and Facebook to get travel updates from airlines and connect with other stranded passengers to try and organize alternate routes home. The Twitter hashtag “#ashtag” garnered over 55,000 mentions in just 7 days.

One couple grounded in Dubai even got married via Skype in an effort to save their wedding day.

Silver lining for this Apple Employee

Gray Powell, the Apple employee who left his iPhone 4G prototype behind at a German beer bar in California which lead to a major scoop for Gizmodo, can now lick his wounds aboard a business class flight to Munich. In a open letter posted on Twitter, Lufthansa offered Mr. Powell a free flight to Munich. It seems like a random gesture but Lufthansa recently opened a Bavarian Beer Garden Business Lounge in Munich so German beer seems to be the common theme.

iPad costs this buyer a lot more than money